While MR representatives were preparing, as every year, to march peacefully on Saturday 8 March for International Women’s Rights Day, several protesters surrounded them, jeered, insulted and forced them to leave. Some women from our party, known for their genuine long-standing feminist commitment, were even physically attacked and thrown to the ground.
In her capacity as President of DéFI, but above all as President of the Conseil des Femmes Francophones de Belgique, the CFFB being a pluralist body, it was Mrs Sophie Rohonyi’s duty to immediately and firmly condemn these acts of violence.
In front of the camera and during the demonstration, Sophie Rohonyi declared that she “completely understood”. She added: “(…) I can understand that the arrival of the MR with signs saying the opposite of what they have done, of what they had included in the government agreement, was seen as a provocation.”
No more, no less: Mrs Rohonyi is justifying this violence or, at the very least, finding mitigating circumstances for it. The President of DéFI also speaks of “provocation” on the part of our political party.
These justifications are nothing more than pretexts to disguise the intolerance of left-wing activists, their claim to hold a monopoly on a cause, and their self-appointed right to decide who is or isn’t entitled to demonstrate. For some, democracy is merely a pretext for imposing their ideas, without tolerating the slightest difference. This is absolutely regrettable.
The Mouvement Réformateur has no lessons to take from anyone when it comes to defending women’s rights. The MR has always fought for equality and will continue to do so with strength and determination.
Sophie Rohonyi said nothing about the antisemitic nature of the protesters’ remarks and actions. MR representatives were described as “Zionists”, and there was even an attempt to tear off a small yellow ribbon worn by an MR MP showing her support for the Israeli hostages.
To avoid setting a precedent, the MR Council therefore calls on Mrs Sophie Rohonyi, in her capacity as President of the Conseil des Femmes Francophones de Belgique, to publicly, firmly, unambiguously and unreservedly condemn these unworthy and unacceptable acts and words to which the representatives of our political party fell victim last Saturday. Should there be no response, we will expressly ask Mrs Rohonyi to step down from the presidency of the Conseil des Femmes Francophones de Belgique.